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When vacations make you sick
Posted on Jan 2nd 2008 8:00AM by Jacki DonaldsonIf you're a workaholic or someone who likes a routine or schedule, taking a vacation may actually make you sick. An expert cited in this article calls it "leisure sickness" -- a phenomenon characterized by taking a break from a busy schedule only to acquire aches, pains, and cold and flu-like symptoms.
One possible explanation for such sickness goes like this: When you are busy, your body is activated. When you are not busy and have nothing to do, your body is relaxed. For some people, this can be pathogenic. Some say "gimme a break" to this perspective; others say it's serious stuff, perhaps tied to stress and the challenge of transitioning from work to non-work.
While the science of leisure sickness remains unproven, the topic is not a new one. An inability to relax on vacations and holidays has long been a characteristic of Type A behavior. When Type As are not in control, headaches, nausea, and fatigue often result. It may be a hormonal thing. Or it could have nothing to do with personality at all. It could be that vacations involve greater exposure to germs that make us sick. Or holidays may simply allow us to acknowledge the symptoms of sickness we may ignore when we're busy with work.
Regardless of the reason behind leisure sickness, it seems regular exercise may be the cure.
"If you're under such chronic stress that you're impairing your immune system, you need to pace yourself," says Esther Sternberg, researcher of neuroendocrine immunology at the National Institutes of Health. "You can't expect to push your body to the breaking point and not have it break."
One possible explanation for such sickness goes like this: When you are busy, your body is activated. When you are not busy and have nothing to do, your body is relaxed. For some people, this can be pathogenic. Some say "gimme a break" to this perspective; others say it's serious stuff, perhaps tied to stress and the challenge of transitioning from work to non-work.
While the science of leisure sickness remains unproven, the topic is not a new one. An inability to relax on vacations and holidays has long been a characteristic of Type A behavior. When Type As are not in control, headaches, nausea, and fatigue often result. It may be a hormonal thing. Or it could have nothing to do with personality at all. It could be that vacations involve greater exposure to germs that make us sick. Or holidays may simply allow us to acknowledge the symptoms of sickness we may ignore when we're busy with work.
Regardless of the reason behind leisure sickness, it seems regular exercise may be the cure.
"If you're under such chronic stress that you're impairing your immune system, you need to pace yourself," says Esther Sternberg, researcher of neuroendocrine immunology at the National Institutes of Health. "You can't expect to push your body to the breaking point and not have it break."
